Revising Your Paper: Steps to Follow

Organization and Thesis

Use steps A-D to help you make sure your paper contains all of the necessary components.

A. Introduction: Starts the paper off broad and tapers down to be specific.  You should get your audience’s attention right away in the first 3 sentences.  The thesis is located at the end of the introduction.

B. Thesis:  Usually the thesis is one sentence long and it expresses all the major components found within the entire essay. Try to structure your thesis following this formula "Although x, it should be y because of z"

C. All Paragraphs in the body of the Paper Should Include:

•  Transition Sentences: these sentences link one paragraph’s ideas to the following paragraph’s ideas.  The transition sentence should be the first sentence of the new paragraph never the last sentence of the previous paragraph.  Your transition sentence is basically your topic sentence.  It links the two paragraphs together and explains in a microscopic way what the new paragraph will discuss.  
•  Topic Sentence: explains what the entire paragraph is about.
• Finalizing Sentence: the last sentence of the paragraph that sums up what you want your readers to understand about that one paragraph.

D. Conclusion: This paragraph starts off specific with a reiteration of the main claim (thesis) and tapers out to broad. (Never use the exact same words from the thesis statement when you write the conclusion.  Say the same ideas with different words. The conclusion helps reaffirm to the reader what specifically you want them to walk away knowing and remembering, so it too is an important feature of the essay.

Methods for Revising Your Paper

• The Good Old Fashioned Way: Go through each paragraph in the paper and summarize in the margins what the paragraph is talking about.  If you find some components in the paragraph that stray away from the topic of the paragraph, take them out of the paper completely or see if you can move those couple of sentences to another paragraph.  Summarize each paragraph to locate specifically if you have included thesis, topic/transition sentences, finalizing sentences, and conclusion effectively. 
• 3 X 5 Card Exercise: Write down the content of each paragraph in a sentence or phrase on an index card. Arrange and rearrange the cards in logical order.  Fill in any gaps with fresh ideas written onto blank 3x5 cards. You may discover that there are too many gaps, or perhaps information that is not pertinent to the essay.
• Cut and Paste Method: You can do this at home. When you have finished a draft of your essay, print it out and cut it up paragraph by paragraph.  Arrange the paragraphs so that they flow together nicely. Are there pieces of information that are irrelevant? Do all the pieces support the thesis?
• Cutting Out: Cut out words on each page, this helps cut down on unnecessary words and phrases. Cross out unnecessary words, cross out unrelated sentences and paragraphs. Try to find at least 7 errors before you hand in the paper the first time. 

Want a Better Grade?

• Writing is revision: Writing only one draft is not the key to logical, succinct writing!  Revising/editing the first draft before handing it in the first time will get you a better grade.
• Find out all the specific requirements: that the teacher has for the assignment.  Create a checklist to account for these additional requirements (in addition to the checklist of intro, thesis, body, conclusion).  This will help you stay organized and will help you achieve a better paper and therefore a better grade.
• Create checklists:
• Identify weaknesses: Write down on index cards individual problems you have as a writer and keep those cards close every time you write, so you keep yourself on target.
• Revision checklist: The checklist sheets will serve as a guide to help you look for places that need revising and rethinking.

Other Questions to Help You Revise

• Does the intro/thesis pull the reader in?  Is my thesis buried somewhere else? 
• Does the piece say what I want it to say? 
• Does the ending grow out of the piece or is it tacked on without relevance? 
• What is my favorite part?  Why?  Do I need to add anything? 
• What is my least favorite part?  Why? Should I change it? 
• What would I like to write more about? 
• Can I cut words, phrases, and ideas? 
• Does this piece flow?  Do I have transitions? 
• Who is my audience?  Is the piece suited for the intended audience? 
• Do all of my paragraphs have a topic sentence and a finalizing sentence?

Click on the link below for information on peer review:

Peer Review Checklist